Chương 69: Graduation Exam

What?! You're graduating early?!" Kiba's shout rang through the entire classroom. Every head in the room swung around at once.

"Lower your voice," Shin said wearily.

"Wait, Shin's graduating early?"

"No way — Shin-kun is leaving?" Almost everyone in the class swarmed toward them. Naruto and Shikamaru pushed through to the front.

"Shin, you're seriously graduating early?" Naruto's face was tight with worry. Shin found himself ringed by faces on all sides, all staring at him. He felt a helpless kind of resignation settle in. He'd considered this — had figured that if he graduated early, it might cause a scene in class. And that Kiba and Naruto especially might not take it well. Sasuke too. Sasuke hadn't moved from his seat.

He sat with his head down, both hands clenched hard in his lap, veins rising along the back of them, nails pressing so deep into his palms they were nearly breaking skin.

"Why do you have to graduate early?!" Naruto demanded.

"That's what I want to know — why now, Shin-kun?"

"He's probably just felt for a while that school has nothing left to give him."

"Or that he's just too talented." The girls around them broke into their own conversations. Some of them directed questions at Shin directly.

"Something like that." Shin smiled at the room.

"I don't think I need another year here. I figure I'm barely qualified enough to call myself a shinobi now."

"Shin-kun is incredible."

"I want to graduate early with Shin-kun too."

"Stop dreaming." Another wave of admiring voices rose around him. Shin turned to look at Kiba and Shino, who were both seated beside him. Kiba was staring at him with that blank, vacant look. Shino said nothing.

"Relax," Shin said to both of them, smiling.

"I'm leaving a year early — that's it. It's not like we'll never see each other again." Neither of them spoke. Shin let out a quiet breath.

"There are things I need to do. Things I can't put off. A year goes fast — and I'll come by to see you. Regularly."

"Like I care," Kiba muttered at the floor. He shoved through the crowd and walked out of the classroom without looking back. Shin watched him go with quiet resignation. He knew Kiba. The bristling and the sulking — it would settle. It would just take a little while.

"Shin." Naruto spoke up then, and something in his voice was different. He was looking at Shin with a directness that was rare for him.

"I want to graduate early too." A scattered wave of laughter went through the crowd. This time, Naruto didn't flinch from it — didn't even glance sideways. He just kept his eyes on Shin.

"Naruto." Shin sighed.

"You want to become Hokage, right? All the more reason to focus while you're still in school."

"Oh..." Naruto's face fell a little. He gave a slow nod. Hokage Tower.

"So he's actually going to graduate early." Kakashi stood before the Third Hokage's desk, looking at the scene playing out inside the crystal ball.

"Nothing I could do. Shikaku came to me himself." The Third smiled with tired resignation.

"Have you arranged an instructor? A team?" The Third shook his head.

"I assumed Shikaku and the others would hold the line — that they'd insist Shin stay through the full term. I didn't expect it to end up like this." He sighed.

"I'm at a loss right now. The placements for this graduating class are basically already settled." He looked across at Kakashi with an expression that was just a shade too casual.

"Why don't you take him for a year, Kakashi? With Shin's ability, he'd make chunin by the second year — you wouldn't even have to work hard."

"No," Kakashi said. Short. Complete. The Third's face fell.

"There's really no one suitable left in the village?" Kakashi said, eyes already drifting back to the small book in his hand.

"Some already have genin teams. Others aren't the right fit in terms of ability. Kurenai's been making quite a name for herself lately, but she's a genjutsu specialist — Shin skews toward the all-round. As for the others, some have decent overall records, but I still feel like they're a little short of what I want." The Third shook his head.

"Shin has real aptitude. I'm not going to hand him off to just anyone." This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"There's a jonin who just earned the rank recently," Kakashi said, lifting his gaze from the book.

"You know who I mean?"

"Mm?" The Third paused to think, then nodded slowly.

"Yugao Uzuki?" Jonin were few enough that new promotions didn't go unnoticed — especially not by the Hokage. He knew the name Yugao Uzuki well. He was the one who had assigned her to ROOT, and later the one who had pulled her back out. He hadn't expected her to make jonin.

"She was on a team I ran in ANBU," Kakashi said.

"Solid shinobi. I thought she was still a bit short of the jonin threshold, but if she's passed the assessment, she should be more than adequate." He paused.

"She was also a swordsmanship specialist back when she was a tokubetsu jonin. And lately I've been getting the impression Shin might be heading in that direction."

"Shin uses a sword?" The Third looked mildly surprised.

"How did that happen?"

"No idea. Someone must have taught him at some point." Kakashi shrugged.

"But she's brand new to the rank," the Third said, a slight furrow between his brows.

"Will she actually agree to take on a genin team? She doesn't have to, not in her first year."

"She will," Kakashi said, and something like a tired exhale came through it.

"Buichi Yamamoto has a student — Sōen Kuriyama. Her other two teammates were killed in the field a while back. Yamamoto's just been posted to the border, and before he left he entrusted Sōen to Yugao — asked her to step in as her team leader. You'll probably have Yugao's instructor registration on your desk soon."

"I see." The Third took this in, but didn't immediately agree. He let a moment pass.

"She's a new jonin. I'd want to assess her ability first — make sure she's up to the task." Late summer. The sky was clear and bright without the thick, stifling weight of full heat. The only ones left at the Academy now were the graduating class, still in their classroom, the exam waiting ahead of them. The room hummed with nervous energy. Most of them couldn't sit still — clusters of students bent toward each other in low conversation; a few sat alone looking pale.

The thrill of it and the dread of it in the same space. Neji sat at his desk with nothing to do but look out the window. For the top student of his year, the graduation exam didn't hold any real suspense. The black-haired boy beside him — the one called Sai — was equally quiet. He had transferred into the class only a few days ago, and in all that time he had never once approached anyone first. When people sought him out, he answered them with a steady smile.

He had a face that drew attention, especially among the girls, and his popularity with them had come almost immediately — though there was something off about the way he talked to people, some quality in his words that, without fail, left the other person stung. He seemed not to notice at all. Most of the girls had forgiven him anyway. He was that handsome. Then their chunin instructor came through the door, and the room went quiet at once — then loosened again, because a dark-haired boy had followed him in.

Most of the class recognized him on sight.

"Shin, go ahead and find a seat." The instructor smiled at him.

"Thank you very much." Shin gave a small bow, and the instructor stepped back out. The classroom exploded.

"Why is Shin in our class?"

"Shin-kun isn't — he's not taking the exam with us, is he?"

"Isn't he a year below?"

"He's graduating early. He must be." Half the room broke into excited whispers, eyes fixed on Shin. The looks directed at him had shifted into something different — eager, covetous, full of a quiet longing. Graduating early... Neji stayed in his seat and watched the boy cross the room. His expression was slightly hard to read. He hadn't imagined — not for a moment — that Takami Shin would appear here, graduating alongside them. Shin picked an empty desk at random and sat down.

The girl beside him went immediately red.

"Shin-kun, h-hello." Tenten's voice came out a little stilted.

"We — before — I... we've met."

"Oh, it's you." Shin looked at her — that very distinctive look, the hair, the style — and placed her easily. He smiled.

"Tenten, right?"

"What's..." Tenten leaned in, voice dropping to barely above a whisper.

"What's your relationship with Sōen-nee?"

"She's my cousin." The gossip in Tenten's eyes snuffed out completely. Shin gradually started to feel restless. He propped one arm against his cheek and let his gaze drift lazily around the room, half-listening to the people nearby who kept trying to start conversations, giving each one a loose, easy answer. Near the window, he caught a flash of white — the distinctive clothing of the Hyuga clan. Neji was already looking back at him. Shin gave him a small, easy smile. Neji turned away without returning it.

The black-haired boy sitting beside Neji was also watching him. Shin smiled in his direction too, just as casually, then looked away. The classroom emptied out, name by name, and still Shin's hadn't been called. He didn't rush it. Through the window he could see a steady stream of students emerging from the exam room down below — a fair number already wearing forehead protectors, and a few others walking out with their eyes on the ground. Eventually, only two students were left in the room.

The instructor returned, looked toward the black-haired boy, and called his name.

"Sai." He stood without a glance in Shin's direction and walked out. Sai... The name turned over in Shin's mind and didn't quite land. He was sure he'd heard it somewhere before — some context he couldn't pull back up, something he couldn't place. The classroom was empty now except for him. He stood, walked to the window, and looked down at the courtyard below. Families were still gathered in clusters — parents and children together, faces running the full range of outcomes. Some lit up, voices carrying.

Others quiet, a parent with a hand on a child's shoulder, words kept low. A few students who hadn't passed sat off to the side while their parents talked them through it. I wonder if they'll come... The thought surfaced briefly and he let it pass.

"Shin." The instructor appeared in the doorway and looked in.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. You're up." He had a warmth in his voice when he spoke to Shin.

"Not at all." Shin crossed the room and fell into step beside him. The exam room held two chunin in standard green flak jackets. They both looked up as he entered.

"Good afternoon, sensei." Shin bowed to them.

"Shin Takami." One of them lifted a sheet from the stack in front of him.

"There's no prior graded record on file for you — but given your years as top student, there's no need for the written portion."

"Your practical exam will follow the same format as the rest of your cohort. First — Clone Jutsu." The exam was exactly what he'd expected. Nothing more than the Three Basic Jutsu — the evaluation had already been built into years of continuous top standing. When the chunin across from him held out the Leaf forehead protector, Shin felt something stir in his chest that he couldn't quite name. Something that wasn't simple. Is this me taking the first step... He breathed out slowly. The thought settled.

The road ahead was still long — there was no mistaking that. He held the feeling, and held it — then something in his expression hardened into focus. He reached out and took the forehead protector in both hands, and tied it to his forehead.

"Congratulations, Shin." Both chunin were smiling at him.

"Thank you." He smiled back, gave a small bow, and turned for the door. …… The Academy grounds were still busy. Parents and students scattered everywhere, the day's results worn plainly on everyone's face — happiness here, quiet devastation there, everything in between.

"Shin!" The voice hit him before he'd taken three steps. He turned. Not far off, Hana Inuzuka was waving at him with a wide, bright smile. Beside her stood Tsume and Kiba, and trotting around their feet — the three brothers, Kuromaru, Akamaru, and Harimaru. Tsume wore her usual expression — that easy, settled calm, the faint lift at the corner of her mouth. Kiba still had his arms crossed, still working at looking like he didn't care, and not quite getting there. Something loosened in Shin's chest.

His face broke into a smile, and he walked toward them.